Happy Retirement, John Hurlbutt!

OSWEGO — In case you forgot, today’s the last day on the air for longtime WRVO fixture John Hurlbutt. The local host of “Morning Edition” is retiring after 40 years at the Oswego-based NPR affiliate. Morning news producer/reporter Jason Smith will assume hosting duties tomorrow.

Replacing a 40-year veteran is no easy task; from the time Hurlbutt’s plan to retire was made public, WRVO took four months before selecting Smith from a pool of 18 candidates. And the station is being thorough about filling his current position; applications are still being accepted.

In other news, WRVO program director Fred Vigeant says the station’s recent “Foneless February” and subsequent March on-air pledge drive raised more than $190,000 in listener contributions.

WRVO’s programming is carried in all four CNYRadio.com markets, via full-power repeaters in each market; WRVN/Utica, WRVJ/Watertown, and part-time on WSUC/Cortland. Reception in the heart of the Syracuse metro is supplemented by WRVD.